Award Winning Formula: Get a Scoop–And Get it Right!

These days, perhaps more than ever before, our news media are under immense pressure to score first publication kudos on breaking news stories….sometimes at the expense of accuracy.  When the newsroom at the San Antonio Express-News realized that they were sitting on top of the scoop of the year–the death of Justice Antonin Scalia at a West Texas ranch resort–two things happened: Resources were deployed to get the story and an equally fervent effort was begun to double-check every fact before the story would be deemed ready for press.

The resulting bombshell story won the Express-News the 2016 Charles Green Star Breaking News Report in the Headliners Foundation/TAPME Awards. In a fascinating interview,  Foundation Chairman Mark Morrison discusses with Express-News Managing Editor Jamie Stockwell about how her staff produced coverage that demonstrates how high-impact, aggressive journalism can still go hand in hand with a sense of responsibility to get things right.